Drugs, bullying, weapons: Which are the safest states for high school students?

If you’re trying to figure out if you work in one of the safest—or least safe—states for high school students, consider: California has the lowest rate of bullying, but students in the Golden State are also the most likely to be exposed to illegal drugs and is plagued by school shootings, according to a new report from Scholaroo, a scholarship search firm that researches K12.

School shootings are most common in Texas and Georgia and least likely to occur in Rhode Island and Hawaii.

Overall, the safest states for high school students are those where the risk of threats, fights or injuries with a weapon and exposure to illegal drugs on school property are low. Almost all southern states are at the bottom of the list—along with two northeastern states, Pennsylvania and New York—due to the highest likelihood of school shootings, more students carrying weapons, and high rates of sexual assault on school property.

Leadership shifts: Restorative justice—Why it may be the best response as behavior worsens

Recent research shows that less punitive restorative justice appears to be a more successful approach to improving behavior than a harsh disciplinary crackdown or a reversion to zero-tolerance suspensions, a University of Chicago study asserts.

In Chicago public high schools that have adopted the practice, arrests fell by 19% and out-of-school suspensions dropped by nearly as much, according to “From Retributive to Restorative,” a report released by the National Bureau on Economic Research.

Safest states for high school students

Here are Scholaroo’s overall rankings, starting with the safest states:

1. Washington
2. Delaware
3. Kentucky
4. Oklahoma
5. New Jersey
6. Connecticut
7. Minnesota
8. South Dakota
9. Massachusetts
10. Vermont
11. New Hampshire
12. Michigan
13. Nebraska
14. New Mexico
15. Hawaii
16. Indiana
17. Rhode Island
18. Colorado
19. Idaho
20. Ohio
21. Maine
22. Alaska
23. Wisconsin
24. Arizona
25. Maryland
26. South Carolina
27. North Dakota
28. Utah
29. Mississippi
30. Virginia
31. Iowa
32. Missouri
33. Illinois
34. Kansas
35. Nevada
36. California
37. Montana
38. West Virginia
39. Wyoming
40. Oregon
41. Arkansas
42. Florida
43. Alabama
44. Tennessee
45. New York
46. Texas
47. Pennsylvania
48. North Carolina
49. Louisiana
50. Georgia